Dispensing cabinet for tongue depressors



Dec. 31, 1929. A. J. HABERER DISPENSING CABINET FOR TONGUE DEPRESSORS 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 8,

Dec. 31, 1929. A. J. HABERER DISPENSING CABINET FOR TONGUE DEPRESSORS Filed March 8, 1929 2. Sheqts-Sheet Patented Dec. 31, 1929 UNITED STATES ALBERT J". HABEREB, OF ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN DISPENSING CABINET FOR TONGUE DEPRESSORS Application filed March 8, 1929. Serial No. 345,374.

The present invention relates to improvements in special receptacles and has reference more particularly to a container for receiving a stack of tongue depressors.

()ne of the important objects of the present invention is to provide a dispensing cabinet for tongue depressors wherein the tongue depressors may be singly ejected from the cabinet in a simple and e'tficient manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispensing cabinet of the above-mentioned character wherein a particular gate structure is arranged at the delivery end of vthe cabinet for normally closing the slots through which the tongue depressors are ejected so as to maintain the tongue depressors in the cabinet protected against dirt and other foreign matter thereby rendering the cabinet sealed to maintain the stack of tongue depressors arranged therein in a sanitary condition.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a dispensing cabinet for tongue depressors which includes a spring-pressed follower for rest upon the uppermost tongue depressor whereby to normally urge the stack downwardly in the cabinet so that the slidable ejector can properly engage with the lowermost tongue depressor to eject the same from the cabinet.

A still further object resides in t-heprovision of a dispensing cabinet of the abovementioned character wherein the parts are so arranged as to permit ready access to the interior of the cabinet for refilling the same or for any other purpose, the device being further simple in construction, inexpensive, strong and durable and further well adapted for the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the same;

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the dispensing cabinet embodying my invention showing a tongue depressor in the act of being discharged from the cabinet.

Figure 2 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section of the cabinet showing the stack of tongue depressors arranged therein with the slidable ejector in its rearmost position and the spring gate normally closing the discharge opening or slot formed in the forward end of the cabinet.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view showing the ejector slide in its foremost position with the lowermost tongue depressor partially ejected from the cabinet.

Figure l is a horizontal sectional view taken approximately on the line il of Figure 2 looking downwardly.

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail showing the position of the spring gate during the discharge of the lowermost tongue depressor from the cabinet; and

Figure 7 is a detail perspective View of the ejector slide per se.

In the drawings wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 1 designates a substantially rectangular-shaped casing or cabinet that is open at its front side, the forward edges of the top and bottom walls as well as the right hand end wall of the casing being formed with outwardly eX- tending flanges 2 while the left hand end wall has its forward edge formed with the inwardly directed flange 3. V A removable cover plate 4: is provided for the open front side of the casing or cabinet and the longitudinal side edges as well as the right hand end portion of this cover plate are formed with the inwardly disposed flanges 5 for interfitting engagement with the respective outwardly extending flanges formed on the forward edges of the top and bottom walls as well as the right hand end wall of the casing or cabinet 1. The inwardly directed flange 3 will engage over the unflanged end of the cover plate as clearly indicated in the drawings.

The bottom wall of the casing or Cabinet 1 is formed with a longitudinally extending slot- 6 adjacent its inner or left hand end portion for a purpose also to be presently described. The lower right hand corner of the casing is formed with a discharge slot 7 that extends for the full width of the casing.

Suitable vertical partitions 8 are arranged Within the casing or cabinet 1 adjacent the respective ends thereof to provide a relatively large central compartment 9 and the end compartments 10 and 11 respectively. Upon referring to Figures 2 and 6 of the drawings it will be observed that the lower ends of the partitions terminate in spaced relation with respect to the bottom wall of the casing so as 'not to interfere with the sliding operation of the ejector or the lowermost tongue depressor. Arranged within the end compartment 10 is the spring gate member 11 that normally closes the discharge slot 7 and this gate is formed from a single strip of spring metal that is bent at its lower end into substantially triangular formation with the outermost corner portion being adapted to seat in the slot 7 in the manner as shown very clearly in Figure 2. The upper end portion of this strip is secured to the outer side wall of the compartment 10 in any appropriate manner. It will also be observed that the base of the triangular shaped gate does not rest on the upper face of the bottom of the casing and the inner end portion of this triangular shaped gate is spaced with respect to the bottom in order to permit the lowermost tongue depressor to pass therebeneath and to automatically move the gate upwardly to an inoperative position as will also be presently described in detail.

A stack of tongue depressors 12 are arranged horizontally within the enlarged central compartment 9. A bridge member 13 is arranged vertically within the compartment against the rear side wall of the casing and against which bridge the handle portions of the tongue depressors 12 are disposed as clearly shown in Figure 4.

For the purpose of normally urging the stack of tongue depressors downwardly in the compartment 9, I provide the follower plate 14 that rests on top of the stack of tongue depressors. A leaf spring 15 is arranged within the compartment 9, the upper end thereof being fixedly secured to the top wall of the compartment while the other end portion of this leaf spring is disposed horizontally across the upper face of the follower plate l4 and this portion of the leaf spring is formed with a pair of longitudinal slots 16 to accommodate the headed screws 17 that are threaded into the follower plate 14. This leaf spring 15 will act as a means for normally urging the tongue depressors downwardly in the compartment 9 so as to insure the delivery of one depressor upon each complete operation of the ejector member, the construction of which will be specifically described inthe following paragraph. The purpose. of the slots 16 is to permit a slight sliding movement of the follower plate 14: so that the lower end portion of the leaf spring 15 will be maintained in abutting engagement with the up per face of the follower plate regardless of the number of tongue deoressors that are arranged in stacked relation in the compartment 9.

The ejector forming a salient part of the present invention is shown generally at 18 in Figure 7 and the same comprises elongated strips of metal 19 having one end thereof bent back upon itself as at 20 and this bent back portion is in itself slightly bent along its longitudinal center. The slide forming strip 19 is arranged for slidable movement along the upper face of the bottom wall of the casing or cabinet and underlies the stack of tongue depressors 12. An actuating knob or button 21 has its upper end portion attached to the strip 19 and the head 22 carried by the upper end of this button is disposed directly beneath the bent back portion 20. The shank of this button or knob extends through the slot 6 so that said actuating element is disposed externally of the bottom of the casing or cabinet. Y

The operation of my improved cabinet may be briefly stated as follows. Normally, the parts are arranged as shown in Figure 2 and the ejector member 18 is disposed at the in nermost end of the casing or cabinet with the tongue depressor engaging portion 20 confined within the compartment 11. By moving the button or knob 21 forwardly in the direction of the arrow, the slide 19 moves forwardly in the casing and the bent back portion 20 passes beneath the adjacent partitions 8 and the free edge of the bent back portion 20 engages with the rear end of thelowermost tongue depressor 12. The forward end of the lowermost tongue depressor is caused to pass beneath the spring gate 11 and the continued forward movement of this lowermost tongue depressor causes the gate 11 to rise upwardly to uncover the slot 7 so that said lowermost tongue depressor will be ejected outwardly of the cabinet through the slot 7 in the manner as shown in Figure 1 and when avportion of the lowermost tongue depressor has been projected outwardly of the cabinet, the user may readily grasp the projecting portion of the depressor and entirely remove the same from the casing or cabinet.

As soon as the tongue depressor has been ejected entirely from the casing, the spring gate 11 will again assume its normal position as shown in Figure 2 closing the slot 7. The spring pressed follower will move the stack of depressors downwardly in the compartment 9 and by returning the ejector 18 to its initial position, the parts are again in position to eject another tongue depressor when necessary.

It will thus beseen. from the foregoing description, that I have provided a dispensing cabinet for tongue depressors that will at all times be positive and efficient in its operation and furthermore only one tongue depressor will be ejected at a time. Furthermore the spring gate closing the discharge slot through which the tongue depressors are ejected will maintain the tongue depressors in a sanitary condition in the cabinet. The central compartment 9 may be refilled when the same becomes empty by simply sliding the cover plate 4: off of the flanged casing.

The simplicity of my device enable the same to be constructed at a very 'low cost and a the same will be strong and durable. Also a structure of his character may be of such size as to permit the same to be carried in a physicians bag without occupying much space.

l/Vhile I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a dispensing cabinet, a casing adapted to receive a stack of articles, said casing being formed with a discharge slot through which the articles are ejected One at a time, a spring gate normally closing the slot, said gate being adapted to be moved to uncover the slot by each article ejected from the casing, and embodying a strip of spring metal attached at its upper end to the front wall of the casing and having its lower end portion bent into substantially triangular formation to present an outer lower corner portion normally seated in said discharge slot and means for ejecting the articles singly through said slot.

2. In a dispensing cabinet, a casing adapted to receive a stack of articles, said casing being formed with a discharge slot through which the articles are ejected one at time, a spring gate normally closing the slot, said gate being automatically moved to an inoperative position to uncover the slot by the article that is being ejected from the casing,

and means for ejecting the articles singly through said slot, said ejector means including a slide forming strip having one end portion thereof underlying the stack of articles, the other end portion of the strip being bent back upon itself to form an article engaging and ejecting element, an actuating button carried by said strip, said casing being formed with a slot through which the button extends.

3. In a dispensing cabinet, a casing adapted to receive a stack of articles, said casing being formed with a discharge slot through which the articles are ejected one at a time, a spring gate normally closing the slot, said gate being automatically moved to an inoperative position to uncover the slot by the article that is being ejected from the easing, and means for ejecting the articles singly through said slot, said ejector means including a slide forming strip having one end portion thereof underlying the stack of articles, the other end portion of the strip being bent back upon itself to form an article engaging and ejecting element, an actuating button carried by said strip, said casing being formed with a slot through which the button extends, and a spring pressed follower arranged within the casing for engagement with the top of the stack to urge the same downwardly in the casing as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ALBERT J. HABERER. 

